Stairway to Heaven: Preventing Fatalities and Catastrophic Accidents

By Edwin G. Foulke Jr.

(Former Secretary of Labor for OSHA)

While OSHA continues to refer cases to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution, more often it is an aggressive local district attorney or state attorney general who is bringing even more criminal prosecutions for fatalities and catastrophic accidents. At the same time, plaintiffs' attorneys are bringing civil tort actions against companies and their safety managers for violations of safety regulations that cause death or serious injuries and, in many cases, using the OSHA inspection file to prove their case. Also, the EPA is securing evidence from the OSHA inspection to bring criminal environmental lawsuits. This information provides ways to improve the effectiveness of your company safety program, including identifying and abating serious and potentially fatal workplace hazards, while providing you the tools to handle a workplace fatality or catastrophic accident.

The information examines:

• Elements of an effective safety program;

• How to effectively handle a workplace fatality and catastrophic accidents;

• How to understand the scope of criminal and civil liability for safety andhealth violations;

• How to secure legal privilege to accident investigations;

• How to ensure the company’s safety policies are in place to protect againstpotential liability; and